Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon
by ChloeTheBearx
Summary: Clare is emotional from the divorce.  She is questioning her beliefs.  Eli is there to break her fall.  First story, summary sucks.  Read and Review!
1. Chapter 1

_Urge Overkill version, of course.  
__First story! The rating comes in very soon, just a warning (: This is set after the present point in the show, about two months into the future. Reviews would make me really happy!_

We've seen each other through it all.

We made it through all of his fighting with Fitz, and the trauma of the dance.

And he's been there for me through my parent's divorce, and my stupid (attempted) rebellion.

Through all of that and everything in between, we've stuck together.

And I love him.

At first, I was hesitant to admit it, even to myself.

I mean, how am I supposed to know what love means? How it feels? It's not like I have the best relationship experience to go off of.

But all doubt fades as soon as my blue eyes meet his mesmerizing emerald green ones.

And when my lips meet his.

And when his arms are around me, and when his laugh fills my ears.

And when I see that annoying yet devastatingly sexy smirk that seems to be permanently etched upon his face…

Eli Goldsworthy is the one for me. And I know without a single doubt in my mind that I am madly in love with him.

The thing is, I haven't told him yet.

He was hesitant about our relationship from the start, and with every right. After Julia… Well I'm surprised he recovered as well as he did.

I'm just scared that it might freak him out if I pronounce my love to him. It's not unheard of for a guy to get nervous and back off once that level of seriousness is introduced.

So I've kept my feelings to myself. All I know is that I love Eli, and that is enough for me.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"I'm sorry, Clare, something just came up. I wish I could come, but I can't."

"So you cancel our plans, with no good reason besides 'something'?"

Adam is keeping something from me, I just know it.

He and Eli were supposed to come over to my place tonight for a movie night. We would be alone, since my dad had already moved out and my mom was going out with her sister.

But now, he's cancelling on me.

"What's the big deal, anyway?" he asked with a roll of his eyes, "Are you really complaining to spend time alone with Eli?"

I was excited to have time alone with him; I'd be lying through my teeth if I said I wasn't.

"Well, yeah, but…" I bit my lip, thinking of how to make sense of my thoughts, "But just because I like time alone with him doesn't mean I don't want to see you too."

Adam smiled, and wrapped an arm around me, pulling me into a hug as we began to walk towards our English class.

"Clare, you'll have plenty of chances to see me this weekend. Enjoy your Friday night with your boy."

I smiled up at him, wrapping my own arm around his waist and returning the hug. "Promise?"

"I swear."

"Hey, now, what is this? Putting the moves on my girl, Torres?" Eli's voice came from behind and we both turned around to greet him.

As my eyes fell upon his face, I couldn't help but smile like a crazy person. I wasn't even paying attention between the playful banter and sarcasm that was being exchanged between the two in their conversation.

That beautiful face got me every time.

Every so often his eyes would shift from Adam to me, and my heart would skip a beat.

As he spoke, I watched his lips move and it took all I had not to jump on him and kiss him right then and there.

And when he stopped speaking, that pesky smirk of his would sit upon his lips.

How could a simple facial expression be so obnoxious, yet so seductive all at the same time?

"Claaare?" Adam sang, waving a hand in front of my dazed face. "Earth to Edwards. Class is starting."

I snapped from my trance and looked between the two boys, both of who knew exactly what had been distracting me.

Adam looked slightly disgusted. Eli, however, held a certain smugness in his smirk.

"S-sorry…" I said quietly, my cheeks growing hot. I spun around and found my way to my seat, shuffling through my notebook pages to the assignment we currently had to do.

"I know I'm distracting, but if you can focus on Mrs. Dawes for the next hour, I'll make some of those naughty thoughts of yours a reality tonight. When we're all alone," he whispered as he slid into his seat behind mine.

I could feel his warm breath on my neck. He knew how crazy he made me.

"You wish," I teased. I usually turned him down at these types of suggestions. However, I'd been giving in a lot more recently.

Sure, we hadn't gone all the way. But during some of our more heated make out sessions, we'd ventured to do pretty much everything else...

Suddenly realizing he had known we would be alone, I turned around, "So Adam told you he couldn't come tonight?"

He hesitated rather than snapping back with some sort of quick comment. This always worried me. Or in cases like this, made me suspicious.

"Or… was it you that told him he couldn't come?"

The look on his face quickly became mischievous, mine quickly becoming stern.

"Eli! You're horrible!"

"But you love it," he said with a smirk.

God, that smirk. I turned back around in my seat before my mind ventured any further.


	2. Chapter 2

_Told you the rating would come in soon! I had to cut up the song a little so it fits the scenario. If you haven't heard it, I would definitely recommend looking it up (as I said, Urge Overkill version, of course). Read and Review, please! Suggestions welcome._

Eli and I sat on the couch watching Kill Bill (we had chosen a theme of Quentin Tarantino for the night) and eating the Chinese takeout we had brought home with us.

His arm was around me, no one else was home, and everything was perfect.

I felt his hand nudge my shoulder and I turned my head to him. I gasped at how close his face was to mine.

He caught my lips in a kiss, which I gladly accepted.

Everything else melted away.

That is, until two yelling figures burst into the house.

My parents.

"So you _had_ to pick tonight, of all nights, to come get your stuff? You selfish piece of garbage."

The yelling pulled Eli and I from each other and we turned to face them.

My mother was livid.

"Sorry to ruin your big night out," my dad said with a cruel tinge to his voice.

As their fighting ensued, I bit down hard on my bottom lip to hold back the lump I felt forming in my throat and the tears I felt would soon follow.

I don't know why it still got to me like it did.

Eli must have seen how it was getting to me. He packed up our food and held it in one hand, standing and offering his other hand to me.

I doubt my parents even noticed we were there, and alone at that. My mother, for some unexplained reason, hates Eli.

Without a word we walked upstairs and into my room.

_Girl, you'll be a woman soon._

When we were safely inside and the loud voices were now muffled, I let out a deep breath I had been holding in.

He was here to get the last of his things.

This made everything so much more real.

I was silent as a hot tear rolled down my cheek. I stood by the door, unable to move.

Eli set the food on my bed and walked back to me. He pulled me into a hug and without a word made me feel better.

He healed my heart.

After standing there a few minutes, I pulled myself back from his embrace to look into his eyes. They were sad, undoubtedly because of me.

His thumbs met my wet cheeks and wiped the tears away.

_Please, come take my hand._

My lips met his and stayed there, moving in time with his returned kisses.

I kissed him until I was light headed from needing to breathe. My breathing was shaky, and he still looked concerned.

He was always so concerned for me.

I gave my best, most sincere smile however weak it might have looked to him.

He smiled right back at me. Not shooting me his signature smirk. But giving me a warm, sincere smile.

I pecked his cheek, then took his hand and led him to the bed.

We sat and pulled out our food again. I looked up at the television in my room and noticed he had turned on Pulp Fiction.

"It got cold," he said, referring to the food he was picking at.

I looked down at my own, and shook my head.

"I don't really have much of an appetite anyway."

We set our food on the floor next to the bed. Instinctively we both got under my covers and our bodies entangled in a desperate embrace.

We watched the movie, but my attention wandered whenever the yelling downstairs got especially loud.

"Eli?" I spoke timidly, tilting my head to look up at him.

"What is it baby?" he asked softly, looking down at me and cradling my face in his hand.

I loved it when he called me baby. It made me feel like I was his. I could hear the care in his voice.

"Eli… " I bit my lip attempting to form the words in my mind, "I… I don't want us to end up like that. Hating each other."

"I could never hate you, Clare," he said with a look of complete seriousness upon his face.

"I could never hate you either," I whispered, closing my eyes for a minute.

"Clare, baby, I care about you so much. I could never hurt you. And I sure as hell could never leave you. I… " I could see him thinking, hard.

_I love you so much can't count all the ways. I'd die for you girl and all they can say is, he's not your kind._

"I _care_ about you too damn much."

He really, really cared for me. And I loved him, without a doubt in my mind. That was enough for me.

With no more words exchanged, I slid my hand behind his neck and brought his face down to mine, crashing our lips together.

His moved against mine eagerly. Mine were urgent against his.

I wanted him. I wanted everything with him.

_Don't let them make up your mind. Don't you know, girl._

As my hands slid down his torso and up under his shirt to feel the fiery flesh of his stomach and his chest, marriage didn't seem all that important to me.

My parents had waited until marriage. Look where that got them.

The only thing that mattered to me was love. And I loved Eli.

He followed suit and slid his hands under my shirt. They moved up slowly, slowly, slowly, until they reached my breasts.

As I extracted my hand from his body to tug hard at his hair, he didn't waste any time to unsnap my bra and the feeling of his hands on my bare flesh felt so nice.

I reached down and tugged at his shirt, pulling it up as far as I could without his help. He pulled his hands from me and lifted them over his head so I could pull his shirt off the rest of the way.

I tossed it to the floor behind me.

_You'll be a woman soon._

He in turn tugged at my shirt, I lifted my arms, and he slowly pulled it over my head and tossed it behind me.

He pulled off my already undone bra and it was added to the pile of clothes.

And it felt amazing, the feeling of him and me, when he pulled me close to him. Our hot skin felt as if it melted together as we pressed ourselves into each other.

And without skipping a beat, my hands moved over his belt buckle and it was unhooked and his pants undone faster than he seemed to register.

I tugged at them as my hungry lips found his.

He was wide eyed and confused, but he kicked them off and they joined the pile.

Our lips still moving, our tongues dancing, and our teeth tugging, he reached down to my skirt.

Rather than removing it, he stayed more controlled with that and moved his hands under it. His fingertips slid along the insides of my thighs, driving me crazy.

They soon found their way to the fabric of my underwear, and they rubbed against it for just a moment before slipping around it and inside of me.

I gasped. As his fingers kept moving inside of me he quickly earned a moan from my throat.

_Please, come take my hand._

He was driving me crazy.

I reluctantly moved my hand down to his and took a hold of it, his fingers leaving me empty.

I left his hand to rest on the hem of my skirt.

He tugged at it, slipping it down ever so slightly.

I only kissed him harder.

_Soon, you'll need a man._

He pulled it off the rest of the way and it was on the floor.

We were both left in only our underwear.

I pushed my body up against his, and I felt his desire against mine.

He groaned and I quickly tugged at the elastic of his boxers, unable to take it anymore.

His eyes shot open and he stared into mine for what felt like an eternity.

"Clare, we don't have t-"

He was cut off by my lips meeting his.

_I've been misunderstood for all of my life…__  
__Well, I finally found what I've been looking for…__  
__Baby I've done all I could. It's up to you, girl._

He was trying to talk me out of it. He thought I would regret this. But I knew in my heart that I wouldn't.

I loved Eli and that was enough for me.

He started to reach for his pants on the floor, undoubtedly searching for a condom. But I'd gone with Alli and gotten birth control from a clinic a few months earlier and had been taking it regularly ever since.

I took his arm and looked up at him mischievously, shaking my head slowly.

I pulled his boxers off, and placed his hands on my underwear wanting him to do the same for me.

He did, and I pressed myself to him one more time.

_Girl, you'll be a woman soon._

Before I knew it, he was above me and I was below him and we were staring into each other's eyes

My legs were spread and he was kneeling between them. I felt him as he rubbed against me.

My breaths became heavy, as did his.

As I pulled his face down to press a kiss to his lips, he pushed himself inside of me.

I gasped, my lips moving even more urgently against his.

It didn't hurt like everyone said it would. Sure, it was a little uncomfortable at first, but that was hardly the first thought on my mind.

_Please, come take my hand._

I was with Eli. Completely. He had me and I had him. We were one.

He was gentle at first, but when my fingernails dug into his back he released all inhibitions and we were a mess of passion and heat.

I moaned, rather loudly but not to match the yells of my parents below.

He moved faster and faster with each sound that escaped me.

_Girl, you'll be a woman soon._

His lips soon met mine and I smiled into the kiss.

I felt his lips pull up into a smile as well, and everything felt right.

When his lips were extracted from mine, he wore a smirk. I bit my lower lip and looked up at him with a fire in my eyes.

_Soon, you'll need a man_

As he moved harder, faster, deeper, I felt my whole body tense up. I was almost there.

I could tell he was too, he looked almost pained with every thrust he gave.

My breathing deepened and my eyes closed tight and then a current ran through my whole body.

_Girl, you'll be a woman soon._

His lips captured the moans now spilling from mine in an attempt to quiet them.

As my body released and the pleasure ran through every inch of me, I could feel him give into his release as well.

He collapsed next to me, both of our bodies shaking as we panted for air.

We turned on our sides so we faced each other. When we opened our eyes, our gazes met.

And he gave a tired but genuine smile.

I giggled softly before pressing a kiss to his nose.

No words were exchanged as we relaxed into each other, his arms around me, and fell asleep to the background noise of the movie.

_Please, come take my hand._


	3. Chapter 3

_New chapter, hope you like it! It changes POV just to clear up confusion. Read and Review? Yes (:_

When I woke up the next morning, the house was silent.

All was still, all except the warm body breathing evenly next to me.

_Eli._

I looked at his peaceful sleeping face and memories from last night flooded back to me.

It had really happened.

And I didn't regret it one bit.

I squirmed a bit in his arms, repositioning myself to my back.

I lifted my right hand and stared at the ring that sat upon it.

It was a small, simple, silver band.

It looked like a wedding band, as it was meant to.

How could something so simple claim such power over a person?

I had lived my life by this ring up until last night.

I continued to stare at it, making sense of my thoughts.

My initial thought was to take it off. Which I did.

It's a purity ring. I was no longer pure.

But just because I didn't believe in the initial purpose of the ring didn't mean it still couldn't mean something to me.

As I played with it and twirled it around between my fingers, I rethought it's symbolism.

It started as a promise to myself, and that's what it would remain.

But, rather than a promise to abstain from sex, it would readjust to fit my beliefs.

I slid the ring back to its place on my finger and made a new promise to myself.

A promise to only give all of myself to another for love. True love.

The love I felt in my heart for Eli.

I felt the boy stir beside me and quickly shifted myself to my side, catching him just as his beautiful eyes flickered open.

He realized where he was and a smile was quickly upon his lips.

I met his smile with my lips, pressed to his for a kiss.

When I pulled back, he was in a daze.

"Wow," he breathed.

"Wow," I whispered back, a girlish giggle following.

"So… You don't… You don't regret it?" he asked, concern filling his voice. His eyes were almost sad, as if he'd expected me to regret it.

"I mean, we didn't really do much talking… There was no talking at all, really. It was all so fast and-"

I once again cut him off by pressing my eager lips to his.

I kissed him until his tense body relaxed and he melted into the kiss.

I shifted my body so that I was now lying on top of him, our still naked bodies pressed together under the warm blankets of my bed.

At my movement, a small moan escaped his throat and he deepened our kisses.

I in turn deepened them only more. A smirk of my own appeared upon my lips at his reaction.

What was this boy doing to me?

We were tangled together, kissing desperately.

Our bodies were becoming hotter as our embrace became more passionate.

And I wanted him all over again.

His hands slid down my back to my hips and he grinded his own against me.

I felt him and knew he wanted me too.

I rubbed myself against him, earning another moan.

I pulled myself from his lips and leaned down, my lips brushing against his ear as I whispered a delayed response. "I don't regret it. Not one damn bit."

He shuddered and only held me tighter.

But I pulled myself loose from his tight grasp. I lifted myself to a sitting position on top of him, never breaking eye contact.

I took him in my hand and began to stroke him. First slowly, then gaining speed as my grip tightened.

His eyes fluttered closed as his breaths quickened.

His eyes still closed, I removed my hand and lowered myself on top of him. His eyes shot open and a loud groan left his lips.

"Oh, god, Clare," he mumbled, watching me as my body moved above his.

A month ago I would have been mortified to have my body displayed so openly in front of him.

But as we had gone further and lost some clothes along the way, he convinced me he found my body beautiful.

I watched him lovingly as he stared at my body, his hands roaming all over me.

I moved back and forth faster, finding my rhythm and biting my lip to hold back a moan.

When we were like this, I could control the movements.

I continued to move, finding a spot he hit perfectly and not wanting to lose it.

I gasped for breath as he held my hips and helped me to continue my rhythm.

I nearly screamed as I felt my whole body tremble above him. "Oh, Eli…" I breathed, pleasure shooting through me.

Before I knew it, he had me pinned down on my back and was now the one in charge. His eyes were hungry as they bore into mine.

I bit my lip, my eyes falling closed as I relaxed completely into his movements.

I did not hold back any moans the pleasure he was giving me brought.

As the sounds coming from me quickened, so did his movements as he guided himself in and out.

"Clare, baby," he breathed, "I'm almost there."

I pulled his face down to mine and kissed him, hard.

His thrusts only became harder, and I nearly screamed into his mouth at the feeling.

We came together and his thrusts became slower as we rode out our pleasure.

He fell onto the bed next to me, breathing hard.

My breathing was shaky as I let my eyes rest for a while.

"That was…" my voice trailed off into a whisper as I tried to catch my breath.

"Amazing," he murmured, finishing my sentence.

I opened my eyes to find him staring at me.

"Amazing," I breathed, closing the space between us with a kiss.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"See you in English, Edwards," I murmured just before my lips found hers.

She pulled away quickly, PDA now being against the rules at this prison. I mean school.

But I noticed the fierce red blush upon her cheeks.

Damn I loved that girl.

"I still can't believe you haven't told her yet dude." Adam slammed his locker closed and crossed his arms as he looked at me.

"I told you, I don't want to freak her out," I said, knowing exactly what he was talking about. It was like he had read my mind.

"You said you didn't want to freak her out because if you told her you loved her, it might seem like you were trying to trick her to get into her pants," he said, judgment in his voice. "But, since that's already happened once already, what's the big deal? What motives could you possibly have?"

"Once?" I blurted without thinking. I forgot, I had only told Adam about the first time.

Her mom had not come home the whole weekend. We had hardly left her bed until this morning.

"Wait, there were more times?" he asked, shocked. I raised my hands in defense.

"You didn't ask!"

"Dude, we're dudes. We're supposed to talk about this kind of shit. It's what we do."

I laughed, shaking my head at my best friend.

"Well, it wasn't _shit_ at all, for your information." He raised his eyebrows, shaking his head at my comment.

"So you really didn't talk about it at all?" he asked, amazed. Clare and I were both talkers.

He should know, whenever anything happened between us we both vented to him.

"No, not at all."

"So, it wasn't awkward at all? I mean, I would just expect it to be awkward with her. She's just so… virginal."

"She wasn't any more 'virginal' than I was," I said with a shrug, beginning to walk down the hallway. He followed close behind.

"Whoa, wait. Mr. Eli Goldsworthy, a virgin?" He seemed shocked. I guess my "bad boy" persona automatically put a man whore label on me.

Truth is, Julia was my only other girlfriend. And that was over a year ago. Neither of us were ready for sex at that point.

"Well not anymore," I said with a smirk as we approached our math class.

"I still can't believe you didn't tell her, man," he said under his breath as we found our seats.

Of course I loved Clare. But I didn't want her to feel obligated to say or feel anything she wasn't ready for.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"Hello, Miss Edwards. You're looking simply lovely this afternoon," I greeted her outside of our English classroom.

She looked at me startled and blushed.

I touched her warm cheek with my thumb, finding the color adorable.

"Hello, Mr. Goldsworthy," she answered, leaning up and kissing my cheek.

I looked her over, a smirk playing at my lips.

"What?" she asked, self consciously looking over her body. "Do my shoes not match? Do I have a stain?"

"No, nothing's wrong, Clare," I said quietly, my eyes still on her. "I'm just thinking about what a sin it is that I haven't seen that beautiful body of yours since this morning."

She blushed even redder than before. My eyes met hers and my lips formed a fake pout.

"I'm going through withdrawal."

"Well as I do agree it is a sin that we have had to go through a day of deprivation, it is almost over."

With a wink and a heart-stopping smile, she turned towards the door and put her hand on the knob.

"We can get the assignment from Adam," I said into her ear as I placed my hand on hers and removed it from the cold metal.

She turned to face me, doubt in her eyes. "Even if I were to agree, my mom is home and your dad works from your house. So there's nowhere for us to go."

"Clare," I started out, mischief growing in my mind. "Have you ever seen the back of Morty?"

She looked surprised at my suggestion. But the mischief in my mind must have expanded to her because before I knew it she had taken my hand and we were hurrying out to the parking lot.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"It just gets better every time," I mumbled against the hot skin of her neck.

Our clothes were in a pile in the corner and we were wrapped around one another, hot and sweaty from the event that took place just minutes prior.

"I-I'm sorry," she started to say.

I opened my mouth to object, there was absolutely nothing she needed to apologize for, but she silenced me with her finger.

"No, let me finish," she said quietly. She looked persistent, so I agreed to let her say what she wanted to say. I took her finger from my lips and began to play with her hand.

"I'm sorry if I'm not very good," she murmured, taking a deep breath before finishing. "I know you're more experienced and I'm not whatsoever and I hope it's not-"

I stopped her from rambling any more nonsense by silencing her with a kiss.

I held her hand in mine as I pulled back, staring straight into those beautiful blue eyes that seemed to capture my soul.

"Clare, have I ever told you that I'm any more experienced than you?"

"Well, no, but you just always know what to do so I just figured-"

"Baby," I interrupted, earning her attention and silence, "You took my virginity too."

"So," she whispered, "So I'm not horrible?"

"You're fucking amazing, Clare," I said with what I'm sure appeared to be the goofiest grin imaginable.

She turned me into mush.

A grin to match mine appeared on her face and she relaxed into me.

I continued playing with her fingers, absently toying with her ring.

Then I realized.

Her ring.

"Clare… are you sure you don't regret anything we've done?" I asked, my voice shaky. My eyes were glued to the ring on her finger.

"Of course not, Eli. Why would you think such a thing?" Her voice was calm, lazy. Her eyes were closed and she was lying comfortably on my chest.

"Well, why are you still wearing your purity ring? Are you ashamed or something?"

The last thing I wanted was for her to be ashamed.

Her eyes opened and she looked at me with the most loving expression in her eyes.

"Of course I'm not ashamed, Eli." She looked from me to her ring, then back again.

"I almost took it off the morning after…" she blushed, giving me a quick kiss. "But I made a new promise to myself instead. I promised to only give myself to someone who I really… _care_ about. Like I care about you."

I looked down at her, every ounce of me wanting to tell her I loved her.

But I didn't want her to get scared, or uncomfortable. So I stayed silent and just kissed her.


	4. Chapter 4

_I'm going to try to update daily (fingers crossed) but forgive me if I get a little behind. I'm sorry if this chapter might get a little dry, but I have my plans. Next chapter will definitely be…exciting? Haha. Thanks for the reviews! Continue to give feedback, it's greatly appreciated!_

My mom had been acting more and more neurotic lately.

She was lonely; I get it.

But keeping me from human contact wasn't by any means an effective way to solve her problems.

She'd been begging me to stay home every night this week. It was Thursday and I was going crazy.

After a day of not seeing Eli outside of school, I'd asked him to stay with me at night.

"How?" he'd asked, "Just waltz through the door, 'Hello Mrs. Edwards, I'm here to sleep with your daughter, have a nice night!'" I rolled my eyes at his sarcastic quip, shaking my head.

"No, silly. You sneak in."

This he found interesting.

There's a large tree leading directly to my bedroom window, a tree that is very easy to climb.

And so the past two nights, Eli had been sneaking up to my room and staying the night.

It was nice having him there at night. I never realized how much of a comfort he was to me.

I could see myself getting used to this.

That Thursday night, I sat in my room studying.

My mom had been too worn out for the movie she rented and retired to bed early.

After reading over the same sentence of my History book for the fifteenth time, I rolled my eyes and slammed it shut, resting my head on top of it.

I couldn't handle this.

Then I heard a small tap upon my window.

I lifted my head and jumped up from my desk, quickly moving towards the window.

I was greeted with the smiling face of the love of my life.

Sliding the window up, I let him in.

The minute his feet hit the floor, he took my face in his hands and kissed me.

It was unlike the passion-ridden kisses we had been sharing recently.

It was gentle, sweet, and loving.

I let myself melt into him as my arms snaked their way around his waist.

But we were soon pulled from the trance we were in when my mother suddenly tapped on my door.

"Clare, can I come in, honey?" she asked timidly.

We freaked, staring at each other blankly, wide eyed.

I started frantically searching for a hiding place for Eli.

"Uh, um… just a minute, mom. I'm, uh, I'm naked!" I stuttered out hurriedly.

"I wish," Eli murmured under his breath, smirking lightly.

I slapped his arm before lifting the blankets falling over the sides of my bed.

"Quick, slide under," I whispered. He complied and vanished from sight within seconds.

I sat on top of the bed and told my mom she could come in.

"Hi, honey," she said tiredly.

She had dark circles under her eyes and looked awful.

"Hi, mom," I answered, my heart racing.

She too sat on my bed and I bit my lip, nervous.

She didn't seem the least bit suspicious. Just went on and on apologizing for how tired she was and how things must not be easy on me either.

Damn right they weren't.

"I'm just happy you aren't reacting in a negative way anymore. You've really pulled it together."

She was referring to my roughly two week period of rebellion. It had been pathetic, really.

"Yeah…" I said nodding enthusiastically, wanting her to wrap up the conversation.

"Honey, I hope you don't mind me saying so, but I think it has something to do with that boy. When you stay closer to home, or spend your free time with Alli, you seem much more clear-headed. He's just not a good influence."

I tensed up at her words. She didn't know the first thing about Eli.

I held my tongue at first, not wanting to cause a scene, not wanting to rile her emotions up all over again.

But she just had to continue.

"He's not right for you, Clare. He's not who you're supposed to be with. And I'll bet it will be any day now before he starts pressuring y-"

I cut her off. I couldn't take it anymore.

"Mom, you don't know anything about him!" I burst. "You took one look at him and judged him! You're unbelie-"

"Clare, calm down," she interrupted me this time. "I'm sorry I brought it up, I just wanted to let you know my opinion."

"Well I don't give a shit what your opinion is," I said coldly, crossing my arms over my chest.

I knew she would be mad. I never cursed, and especially never in front of her.

"Clare Elise Edwards! You didn't mean that, you take that back right now!" Her voice raised and she stood up.

"Well, mom, I did mean it. And I do not intend on taking it back."

I could see the heat rising to her face.

"Young lady, you are grounded for a month!"

Before I could worsen the situation any more, she stormed out of my room, slamming my door. I could hear her stomp down the stairs.

Eli was out from under my bed and nearly shaking me before I could take a breath.

"Clare, what were you thinking!"

I looked up at him, confused.

"Why thanks, Clare, it was so sweet of you to defend me! No problem, Eli, just one of the many reasons why I'm the best girlfriend ever."

I crossed my arms and looked up at him, mimicking a common comeback method of his.

He rolled his eyes, sitting on my bed facing me.

"Clare," he said calmly this time. "While it was incredibly sweet of you to defend me like that, your mom is really fragile right now. Making her mad won't do you any good."

"Eli Goldsworthy, what a softie," I teased, "Aren't you the one that's always telling me to not care what other people think? To say and do what I want, when I want?"

"Well sorry I _care_ about you, Edwards," he said, ruffling my hair lightly. "And I would prefer my girlfriend not be grounded for a whole month. I'd like to take her out, have a good time."

"Oh, like she'd even notice I was gone," I said softly, looking down. I then smiled a mischievous smile.

"But who says we can't have a good time here?" My eyes met his and he chuckled lightly.

"Very true," he mumbled, leaning into me and kissing me softly.

The gentle kisses were a nice change of pace.

I lay back on my bed and pulled him on top of me.

He followed suit, deepening the kisses just a bit. He held himself above me, his free hand on the side of my face.

I moaned lightly against his lips, earning even more passion from him.

I couldn't imagine a more perfect moment.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.

I had left Clare's window that morning and walked a few blocks down the street to where I'd parked Morty, with just enough time to drive back to her house to pick her up for school.

She'd told her mom she was riding her bike, I'm assuming, as she had laid it in the back.

She slid into the passenger seat, leaning in and giving me the sweetest kiss.

We didn't talk much on the short drive to school, but the silence was comfortable.

Her head sat on my shoulder and it felt right.

"Here we are at Hell," I mumbled, staring at the school.

"It'll be fine. Just go into the day thinking it will be a good one."

I just stared at her blankly, not buying the falsely optimistic advice.

"Okay, so maybe it won't work. But it never hurts!"

I laughed and kissed her cheek before getting out of Morty and heading into the building, arm in arm with my perfect girlfriend.

The day was long, but not horrible. Just tedious.

Clare was tutoring year nines during lunch, so I didn't see her until the last class of the day, our English class.

Mrs. Dawes was talking about Romeo and Juliet. It seemed like her favorite subject.

Not that I cared, I knew that play inside and out.

"The play takes place over the span of less than a week. In that amount of time, they meet, fall in love, get married, and meet their fateful ends. For such young people, why do you think they rushed the marriage so?" Mrs. Dawes perched on the corner of her desk, waiting for an answer that no one was eager to give.

"Temporary insanity?" I asked, breaking the awkward silence.

"Very funny, Mr. Goldsworthy," she said with a smile. I saw Clare shake her head as most of the other students laughed.

"But I do agree, it does seem crazy to get married after just a few days. Of course the most obvious reason to readers of the play is that the controversy around them made them feel rushed and desperate. But what most people tend to overlook is that they were also hormonal teenagers at a period of time in which sex before marriage was simply unheard of."[1]

"So, Mrs. D, you're saying they got married so they could bang?" Adam asked suddenly, earning even more laughs than my comment.

"Essentially, yes," she answered with an amused smile. "It's more of a social norm nowadays to have intercourse before marriage. What do you all think of the subject?"

No one answered, as before.

"Well I'll just have to pick someone." She searched the room as everyone avoided eye contact. "Hmm… Clare, you seem like you'd have an opinion on the matter."

She was obviously referring to her promise ring.

I saw Clare's head shoot up and I got nervous.

I wondered if Clare really was ashamed of us, as I'd suspected before.

I leaned forward in my seat to listen closely.

"Well," she started off, choosing her words carefully, "I don't necessarily believe that marriage is involved. Nearly half of today's marriages end in divorce, and even more go on forever with no love."

She paused, her voice breaking. She cleared her throat and sat up straight.

"But some people are madly in love and never get married. I believe that there is nothing wrong with premarital sex, as long as there is love."

Love. I loved Clare more than anything.

I smiled at the thought.

But my smile quickly faltered.

I loved her, of course. But I hadn't told her.

She believed that sex before marriage was okay, but only as long as love was involved.

I'm sure she thought I didn't love her. I'm not even sure she loves me.

I knew I'd compromised her by sleeping with her.

I knew she regretted it.

When the bell rang, I was out of the door before she'd even stood up.

"Eli! Eli! Eli, wait!" I heard her yell as she followed me.

She caught up and nearly took me to the ground, jumping on me to get me to stop.

"Eli, where are you going? Why didn't you wait for me?"

I couldn't look at her, I felt too awful.

"Oh, I just remembered I had something to do," I mumbled, looking at everything but her.

"Like what?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I'm…" I spotted Adam and grabbed him by the back of his shirt. "I'm hanging out with Adam."

"You are?" he asked curiously. My grip on him tightened and he nodded quickly, "Oh right, you are!"

"Okay…" she said softly, clearly confused. She took my arm and pulled me aside.

"Will you be able to come over tonight?" she asked timidly, afraid.

"I don't know, I kind of promised…"

"I don't think I'll be able to sleep without you," she whispered, pleading eyes bearing into me.

I couldn't handle that look. I had to give in.

"Of course, Clare. I'd say don't wait up for me, but you kind of have to."

She smiled and I relaxed.

All I wanted was for her to be happy.

Which was why I couldn't let anything happen between us tonight.

Nothing.

_A/N: That theory isn't something I just made up, it's based on a discussion I had a few years ago in one of my own English classes_.


	5. Chapter 5

_This chapter is pretty long, so I apologize. But I know you guys were starting to get frustrated so I wanted to get it all out in this one. Let me know what you think! And any suggestions are welcome (: Read and Review pretty please!_

I was relieved that Eli agreed to come over tonight.

Something was bothering him. I was sure of it.

But what?

What had I done? I racked my brain trying to remember anything I might have said to upset him.

But I was clueless.

Now that my mom was mad at me, I spent the whole afternoon in my room. I studied, I read, I mindlessly flipped through television channels, and I went back to studying.

I was restless.

It was midnight and I hadn't received so much as a text from Eli saying when he'd be over.

I picked up my phone and set it back down, debating whether or not to call.

I repeated this a few times before finally pushing call.

I had expected a loud chaotic background, but when he answered it was dead silent.

"Hello?"

His voice was hesitant, even though he knew it was me. His actions today were really starting to upset me.

What had I done?

"Uhm, hey, Eli. I'm sorry to bother you…"

"No, it's fine Clare. What's up?"

"Well, I was just wondering when you were coming over. I haven't talked to you since school…"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I just, I um… I got caught up with Adam. I'll be over soon though. Promise."

And without even a chance to say okay, the call was disconnected.

I lay down on my bed and curled up into a ball, trying not to cry.

I messed everything up.

Even though they didn't admit it, I still felt like I played a big hand in my parent's separation.

And now I was somehow pushing Eli away and making him distant.

There had to be a way to fix this. I had to get him close to me again.

Seducing him, I thought, might just work.

When I heard a faint tapping on my window, I jumped up and let him in.

But unlike the night before, he didn't greet me with a kiss. He just turned around, shut the window, and walked over to sit at the foot of my bed.

He looked distracted. Distressed, even.

It was not a look I liked.

"What's wrong?" I asked quietly, moving to sit beside him. He shook his head.

"N-nothing," he answered just as quietly, hesitating to meet my gaze.

I didn't believe him by any means, but I dismissed it and leaned into him.

He was tense.

I tilted my face up to study his features.

They were sad.

Instead of pressing further, I lifted my lips to his and kissed him.

He kissed me back, though his kisses were uncharacteristically reserved.

I deepened the kisses, hoping to get his mind off of whatever it was on and instead pulling it to me.

But he was reluctant to match their passion.

I lifted myself so that I was nearly on his lap as I pushed him back onto the bed.

When his back hit the comforter, he held me above him and broke the kiss.

I went to kiss him again, but he held me back.

"Clare, I… I can't," he murmured. His face was pained.

"You can't what?" I asked timidly.

"This… I can't…"

"Eli, don't say that. I don't know what's bothering you but just let me take your mind off of it. Let me make you happy."

I pushed past his arms and my lips pressed into his neck, trailing a line of kisses. My hands moved down his chest and towards his waist slowly.

He stopped them.

"Clare, I can't," he said, more forcefully this time.

"Why, Eli? What the hell did I do? Why are you being like this?" I was desperate, I was angry, and I was hurt.

"It's nothing," he said simply, his eyes refusing to meet mine.

"Well that's obviously a lie," I said, lifting myself off of him and standing, looking down at him coldly.

He sat up, his eyes on the floor.

"I'll still stay if you want me to. But… but _that_ isn't going to happen."

He didn't want me. He was distancing himself from me.

My eyes grew hot with tears.

"You should leave," I said softly, my voice breaking.

"Clare, I-"

"Eli, just go!"

He stood up and walked over to me. He lifted his arm to almost touch me but pulled back at the last minute and simply left.

I was a wreck, bawling my eyes out, and he just left.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"I really fucked things up."

I rolled my eyes at the voice on the other end of the phone. No shit he'd fucked things up.

"I did what I told you I would, I tried to back off. I just didn't want to do any further damage. I thought… I thought backing off would help her, not hurt her. But she freaked. She was crying when I left. Man, I don't know what to do."

"Jesus you're stupid," is all I said.

"Thanks a lot," he muttered.

"Dude, why didn't you just tell her how you feel? This is getting out of hand. The poor girl can only take so much of your shit."

Through their whole relationship, Clare and Eli had deemed me their confidant.

And most of the time, it got messy. I never said I was a good mediator.

"Do you think I should call her?"

"If I were her, I wouldn't answer your phone call for anything. Just being honest."

His silence let me know he was freaking out inside.

But he toyed with Clare's emotions too much. I'm surprised she still liked him as much as she did.

"So should I give her some space? Let her calm down a little?" he asked, desperate.

"I really don't think she wants you to be any more distant than you already are," I started, but he cut me off.

"But all I do is hurt her. I'm going to let her come to me."

And he was off the phone.

I looked down at my phone. I had 2 missed calls from Clare.

Poor girl.

She loved him so much but she was too scared to say so.

I knew about how much they both loved each other.

And time after time I told them to confess.

But stupid kids never listened to me. And look where it got them.

I called her back quickly.

"Adam?" she asked timidly, her voice broken and desperate.

"Yeah, Clare. What's wrong?"

And she proceeded to tell me the exact story Eli had.

"He really does care about you," I offered.

"Well then why did he push me away? If he really does care about me like you say, then he has a genius way of showing it."

She was pissed. This was not going to end up well.

"You just need to talk to him, it's the only way any of this is going to get-"

"Me, talk to him first? You're crazy!" she nearly yelled. "I'm the one that deserves an explanation!"

Great. Neither would talk to each other. How many times did I have to tell them, Adam knows best.

"Look, just try to calm down and maybe talk to him about it?"

She didn't answer.

I hesitated.

"Or… or you could just talk to me about it in the meantime." What had I gotten myself into with these two?

"Thanks, Adam. You're the best."

"I know."

.-.-.-.-.-.-.

I didn't talk to him that whole weekend. Nor had he spoken a word to me.

Sent me a single text.

Called.

I was going insane.

I didn't leave my room but to eat twice a day.

I couldn't sleep without him there with me.

When I went to school Monday, I was a zombie.

I hardly spoke a word to anyone the whole day.

I saw that Adam was with him at lunch, so I ate in the library.

In English, I got there early and left late, never turning to face him where he sat right behind me.

I was not breaking first.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.

I kept my word and didn't call her.

I wanted to give her time. When she calmed down she would call me.

But the whole weekend passed by and not a word.

I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep.

She had such a hold on me.

At school on Monday I was among the living dead as I blankly sat through class after class.

At lunch, I didn't see her even once.

I complained to Adam, and he told me I was being stupid.

But after what I'd put her through, I didn't think I was being stupid at all.

In English, she was already seated and doing her assignment when I arrived.

I stayed in my seat just a few minutes after the bell, hoping to catch her as she turned to leave.

But she stayed seated too.

And this went on day in and day out for the whole week.

It was breaking my heart, not speaking to her, hardly seeing her, not kissing her or touching her or loving her as I'd grown so accustomed to doing nearly every day.

I couldn't take it anymore.

"If you can't take it anymore, why don't you take my damn advice and talk to her?" Adam asked after I'd confessed to him.

His sympathy for me was next to none.

"Like she'd talk to me. After what I've put her through… I can't do anything right, can I? I try to make things better and they end up a million times worse."

"If only you'd listen to me," he said shaking his head. "Dude, seriously. Go talk to her. If she won't listen, make her. I don't know, show up to her house or something. Find a way."

That plan didn't seem completely awful.

I decided I would.

That night, when it was late enough that I knew her mom would be asleep but she would still be up, I drove over to her house and climbed the tree leading up to her window.

I looked in and saw her.

She was a mess, tears in her eyes and her hair going in every direction.

Had I really done this to her?

I couldn't stand to see her like this.

I reached forward and lightly tapped on her window.

She looked over with a jump, caught off guard.

She slowly walked over and opened the window, but did not move back to let me in.

"What do you want?" she whispered, her voice shaky.

"Clare," I whispered back, "Baby please. Can I just talk to you for a little while?"

She hesitated, but moved back and I climbed in through the window.

I hugged her, but she didn't hug me back.

We moved to her bed and sat there for a good ten minutes without saying anything.

"Eli, if you aren't going to talk…"

"I am, Clare. I just have to… I'm just nervous."

I was shaking. I couldn't lose her. I wouldn't.

I turned to face her, taking her hands in mine.

"The other day in English, when Dawes was talking about Romeo and Juliet. And she asked you for your opinion on sex. Well, you said that you thought it was okay as long as the two people loved each other. Now, Clare, I love you so much, I've loved you since before we were even together. But I didn't want to freak you out by telling you, so I just let it be."

I was rambling now. I didn't realize her shaky, "You have?"

"Even though I've known that I love you, you haven't. See I knew I was compromising you by sleeping with you. And I'm sure you regretted it, just like I thought."

Again, I was so wrapped up in my thoughts I hadn't noticed her whisper "I didn't regret it at all."

"But I just want you to know that I've loved you through it all. And that's what was on my mind when I…"

"I've loved you too, Eli."

"…was with you. And I can't even- Wait, what was that?" I'd finally tuned her in and I was shocked.

She laughed softly, leaning into me.

"I've loved you too, Eli. I love you. I love you so much it hurts sometimes."

My eyes were wide and it took me a minute to register. But when I did, I pulled her close and kissed her hard.

When we broke away from each other, we were in a daze.

I was there, with the girl I loved, and she loved me too.

Everything was right in the world.

"I should have taken Adam's advice a lot sooner, I guess," I mumbled reluctantly.

He had told me the whole time to just fess up to her.

"Me too," she said with a small smile.

I smiled and relaxed onto her bed, pulling her down with me.

"Can we never fight again? Or, whatever that was."

"Of course. I don't think I could have lasted another day without you," she whispered. "I haven't slept hardly at all since…"

"Me neither," I said, holding her tight.

"Eli?" she murmured looking up at me.

"Yeah, what's up?" I asked looking down into her beautiful eyes.

"I love you," she whispered, a grin taking over her features.

And I smiled too.

"I love you too," I replied, my voice muffled by my lips upon hers.

We kissed gently, but soon our passion took over.

I shifted my body so that I was positioned above her and our deep kisses ensued.

Just as we had gotten to the point where we were nearly about to rip each other's clothes off, I pulled back.

"Not again," she groaned, her eyes pleading.

"No, we're going to do this," I assured her, kissing her softly. "But we're going to do it right, Clare. Like we should have done it the first time."

Our first time (and every time after) had been rushed.

Hot, heavy, and passionate.

And that was great, but I wanted to give her everything a first time should be.

Sweet, gentle, and slow. I wanted to make love to her.

She looked up at me, obviously confused but willing to let me show her what I meant.

I leaned down and kissed her slowly.

As my lips moved against hers, they moved with passion, but not with the desperate urgency that we usually shared.

My hand cupped the side of her face at first, then slowly slid down her neck, fell over her beautiful body, and found the hem of her shirt.

I didn't rip it off in haste. I lifted it gently, and let it drop to the floor.

My hands moved across her bare skin and my fingertips memorized every inch of her.

My lips met hers once again and my hand found the elastic of her pajama shorts.

I hooked my thumb into them and pulled them down slowly. They soon met her shirt on the floor. My hands now moved across her legs, and she leaned into me.

Her hands fumbled with the buttons of my shirt and I continued kissing her, letting her work it off in her own time.

It met her clothes.

Next she unbuttoned, unzipped, and pulled off my jeans. I helped kick them off and they too found the floor.

Covered by only our underwear, our warm bodies pressed into one another.

My lips hadn't left hers.

I reached around and unhooked her bra, removing it and pulling her to me.

A small moan escaped her as our tongues danced together.

I positioned her on her back and slowly pulled off her underwear, my hands lingering.

She removed my boxers at the same pace, and I smiled against her lips.

I kneeled between her legs, my lips venturing from hers to place a kiss on her neck.

I whispered in her ear that I loved her, and she wrapped her arms around me and whispered it back.

My lips found hers once more as I pushed myself inside her.

I moved slow and rhythmically, loving the feeling of her around me.

She nibbled at my lip, and I knew that she loved it too.

I only gained a little bit of speed occasionally, wanting this moment to last forever.

Her hips rocked with mine, and mine with hers.

There was no telling where I ended and she began, we were one.

This time lasted much longer than any time before. Towards the end, I sped up for her, knowing she was close.

She shook in my arms, and I watched her as she tightened around me then let herself go.

She was beautiful, and I loved her.

I too let myself go, kissing her deeply as I did so.

When my body collapsed against hers, she let out a soft moan and curled up against me.

I wrapped my arms around her.

"How was that?" I mumbled against the top of her head between placing soft kisses there.

"Perfect," she whispered sleepily.

Before we drifted off into slumber, there was time for one more exchange of words.

"I love you, Clare."

"I love you too, Eli."


	6. Chapter 6

_Sorry for the lapse in updating! I kind of hit a writer's block, but I thought up some new ideas. So, am I the only one that squealed like a little girl at the promo for this week's episode? (: Read and review lovelies!_

Early the next morning, we were awakened by the sound of a knock at my door.

Eli stirred beside me as my eyes took a minute to adjust.

"Clare, can I come in?"

My mom. She sounded tired.

I motioned for Eli to get under the bed, but he hesitated.

"Clare," he whispered, "if she starts to talk about me, even if she says something you don't like, please just agree with her."

I rolled my eyes, but he took my face in his hands.

"Clare, just do it. It won't hurt my feelings. I just don't want her mad at you anymore. As much fun as this sneaking around is, I'd like to spend some time with my girlfriend out in public."

"Clare? Are you awake?"

I heard her hand on the door.

"Okay, I promise," I whispered.

He slid under the bed as I extracted my shirt from the floor, pushing the rest of the clothes out of sight, and put it on.

"Yeah… Come in mom!" I called.

She opened the door and walked in. She stayed standing at the foot of my bed.

"Clare, I'm sorry about the other day. I know I probably upset you, but I just thought I'd let you know how I felt."

I waited for her to continue, but she seemed set on waiting for me to speak first.

"Uh, well it's okay mom. I was out of line. I," I took a breath, feeling so wrong for saying things I didn't mean, "I completely agree, actually. You know, about the whole bad influence thing…"

My voice was soft, unwilling to say the lies Eli promised me to tell her.

She nearly beamed at what I told her. It was sickening, actually.

"That's so good to hear, honey! I'm glad you're mature enough to have such good judgment." She walked over to the side of my bed and patted my messy hair.

I flinched at her touch.

"Yeah, well, if you wouldn't mind I should get ready." I bit my lip, my eyes focusing on the pattern of my comforter.

"Of course honey. Have any plans for today?"

"Aren't I still grounded?" I mumbled, glancing up at her.

"No, I think we can call that off. You should call Alli, I'm sure she would like to hear from you."

"I think I'll do that," I said with a nod, smiling at the thought of getting to sneak out and be with Eli instead.

She left and I leaned over to look under my bed, and saw Eli from my upside down perspective.

"That was awful," I pouted. He smiled.

"But look where it got us. You're off of house arrest!"

I smiled faintly and pulled myself upright as he slid out from under my bed.

I blushed at his nakedness, and realized that under the covers, I was still half naked as well.

He slid back into the bed and curled up beside me.

How anyone could hate such a wonderful person, I had no idea.

Of course, it was pretty much my fault that my parents weren't so fond of him.

The way I'd talked him down when I was still trying to make them mad at me hadn't helped his cause at all.

I sighed and fell down to the bed beside him, resting my forehead against his.

He touched our noses together and I giggled softly.

"I'm sorry things are so… everywhere for you," he murmured, "I know it seems like things are only looking down but I'm here for you. I'll make you feel better in any way I can."

"You're the last person that should be sorry," I said as I opened my eyes and looked into his, "You're really the only thing that does make me feel better. For now, just distract me."

I leaned in to kiss him, and he kissed me back, but rather than increasing the intensity he backed off.

"I have a different idea of distraction," he said with a sly smile, and I had to smile back.

"I can't wait to see what you possibly have up your sleeves."

.-.-.-.-.-.-.

We sat at the park.

The same park where we had shot our Romeo and Juliet video.

Sitting on the same bench.

Memories had flooded back to me. I couldn't stop smiling at his surprise.

His arms were around me and I was comfortably nestled against his chest.

"It's such a beautiful day," I mused.

"Beautiful day, beautiful girl, life is good," he said smirking.

"I could stay here all day," I said dreamily, closing my eyes.

"But then you would miss out on everything else I have in store for you," he said mischievously.

"There's more?" I asked as I looked up at him.

"Did you seriously think there wasn't?"

"Well… yeah?" I sat up and looked at him. "This is so perfect."

"This is only the beginning."

I loved that mischievous look.

After relaxing in the park for a little while longer, Eli suddenly stood up and pulled me with him.

We got into Morty and were on to our next destination.

He pulled up to a little outdoor café and put the hearse in park.

"This looks great," I smiled as he looked over at me.

"Thought you'd think so," he smirked and leaned in to kiss me.

We got out of the car and walked over to the patio seating.

We sat across from each other looking at the quaint menu as we waited for service.

Our waitress was covered in tattoos and was wearing a ripped, hippie style dress.

"Well hi there, Eli," she said warmly. I looked between them, momentarily confused.

"Hey, Rachel. This is Clare. Clare, this is Rachel. She interns at the radio station where my dad works." Rachel greeted me with a smile.

"So this is little miss Clare? I've heard great things about you, sweetie."

I smiled timidly, shy at the overenthusiastic introduction.

"What can I get you kids to drink?" She pulled out her pad of paper and we went ahead and ordered our food as well.

She brought Eli a glass of water and me a coffee just minutes later.

"So do you have anything special you want to do today?" he asked reaching across the table and taking my hand.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, taking in the moment.

"I like where your surprises are leading. You should keep picking."

He laughed quietly and squeezed my hand.

"I wish your parents liked me," he murmured, suddenly looking upset.

"Don't worry about it, it's not a huge deal. They're… closed minded." I shook my head, squeezing his hand this time. "Even though they don't like you, I love you. You're amazing, Eli."

I frowned a little, looking down. "It's pretty much my fault that they don't like you anyway. So it should be me that you're mad at."

"Clare, I'm way over that. They would have found out all about me eventually. I just wish, I don't know, sometimes I wish I were more like you. More of what you deserve."

"Eli, I would hate it if you were like me. I hate that I'm like me. I want to be more like you." I looked over to where Rachel was talking animatedly to one of her other tables.

"That's the kind of girl you should be with. Carefree, expressive, and outgoing. Everything you are. Everything I'm not."

"Clare, you're perfect," he said softly, his eyes piercing mine.

"No, I'm not. You are," I whispered, looking right back at him.

He shook his head, a smirk on his lips. "Well, even though we seem to hate ourselves, we love each other. So I say we don't change a thing."

"Whatever you say, Goldsworthy," I said with a smirk of my own.

"Hey, now. Using the last name, and sarcastic facial expressions? Look who's turning into me already?"

I laughed and leaned back in my chair, our hands pulling apart when our food came.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.

A couple of hours later we found ourselves walking along the streets downtown.

We talked about everything, stopping into several shops along the way and trying on the most ridiculous things we could find.

The day was turning out to be wonderful, carefree, and perfect. It was just what I needed.

We ended up back at the café, and he guided us back to Morty.

I didn't know where he was taking us next, but I knew wherever it would be it would be perfect.

He ended up parking by the park again.

"Back here?" I asked looking around.

"I'm loving being outside today," he said simply.

The park was abandoned, it nearly always was.

We got out, but rather than sitting on the bench we sat on the warm grass. He leaned back on his arms, and I let myself fall onto my back, enjoying the warm sun.

When my eyes fluttered open, his were staring down at me.

"God, you're beautiful Clare," he murmured.

My cheeks grew hot, and I gently bit my lower lip to keep from smiling like a fool.

He relaxed next to me, his fingers grazing my pink cheeks.

They moved slowly down to my jaw line and traced my features all the way to my chin, then up to my lip still in the grasps of my teeth.

My lips parted at his touch and he leaned in, pressing his lips to them.

Unlike earlier in my room, he didn't pull back.

Passion built and we were soon moaning into the kisses, our hands roaming freely all over one another.

When his hand slid up under my shirt, I pulled back and looked around.

He pulled me back into the kiss, but I was now reserved.

He was the one who pulled away this time, a look in his eye that I couldn't quite place, but knew exactly what it meant.

He stood up, helping me up with him, and led me over to the hearse.

After opening the door to the back, he followed me in.

Before I knew it I was pinned to the floor, Eli's tongue battling mine as his lips moved rapidly against mine.

I fought back, my kisses just as desperate.

His grip on me didn't ease one bit and I moaned into his mouth.

He went crazy.

In a flash he had pulled off my cotton sundress and was working his hands to the back of my bra.

I pulled his shirt off, but when my fingers found the button of his pants he pinned them on either side of my head.

His eyes were wild.

I bit my lip, holding my breath.

His lips landed on my neck, trailing kisses along it. He gently nipped my ear before his lips searched downwards.

They stopped at my breast, and I sighed in pleasure at the feeling of his tongue and teeth working my nipple.

I lifted my hips to press myself against him.

His hands left mine and caressed the sides of my body.

When he reached my panties, he antagonized me with how slow he removed them.

I reached for him again but again he pushed my hands away.

He spread my legs apart, one now resting on each of his bare shoulders.

Lowering his head, his tongue was now probing me.

I immediately bit my lip to hold back the string of moans that were playing in my throat.

As his tongue moved in and out of me, his fingers worked their way to my clit.

The simultaneous pleasure finally earned a loud moan from my lips.

My noise only made him work even more.

"Eli," I whispered breathlessly.

He pulled himself from me, but his fingers continued.

I opened my eyes to look down at him.

"You're so beautiful Clare," he murmured, turning his head down again to place gentle kisses along the insides of my thighs.

"Oh, Eli," I murmured, my hands finding his hair and grabbing it by the handful.

He groaned and his tongue found me again, and it was enough to send me over the edge.

As I rode out my orgasm, my grip on his hair tightened and I moaned so loud I was yelling.

He brought his body up and lied next to me.

My breathing was uneven, and I grasped his shoulders.

I held myself close to him as I regained control of myself.

When I looked at him, he was smiling sweetly down at me.

His hair was disheveled, thanks to my forceful grip on it.

He was beautiful.

That was the perfect way to describe him.

"I love you, Clare," he whispered, pressing a kiss to my forehead.

"I love you too," I whispered back, smiling softly.

I quickly grew chilly, and was suddenly aware of my nakedness.

"I- I'm sorry," I said softly, pressing myself even closer to him to cover up my body.

"What in the hell are you sorry for?" he questioned, his tone insinuating that I was crazy.

"Well, I just can't imagine that being… enjoyable for you. And you didn't get to… it was really one sided."

"Clare, I love doing that," he said into my hair, his hands lightly rubbing my bare back. "And I wanted it to be one sided. I thought you'd picked up on me pushing your arms away."

"Well yeah, but-"

"But, nothing. You have nothing to be sorry about, so stop with your nonsense."

I smiled and cuddled up to him, but a small shiver soon jolted my body.

He pulled a blanket that was piled in the corner of the car over us.

For the rest of the afternoon, we lay there like that.

"Thank you, Eli," I mumbled against his chest as my lips softly kissed his warm skin.

"What for, Clare?"

"The best day ever," I whispered.

_A/N: The next chapter will pick up here and finish the day. It's not over (:_


	7. Chapter 7

_I'm going to try to keep up with the updates, but the end of this week and this weekend may get a little hectic for me, so I apologize in advance if I get behind : / In the meantime, though, continue reading and reviewing!_

"Oh, let's look at the pet shop!" I squealed girlishly as we drove down the downtown streets.

We had left the park about ten minutes ago and were now in Morty, holding hands as he drove.

He laughed at me, but just shook his head and parked the vehicle.

We got out and I dragged him along behind me as we walked to the entrance.

"What should we look at first?" I asked, spinning in a circle as I looked at all of the animals surrounding me.

"Ferrets?" Eli asked, walking over to the weasels.

I followed him, but soon plugged my nose as I neared.

"God, they smell awful!"

He nodded, "Never mind."

"Bunnies!" I giggled and pulled him a few feet away to the cage of baby rabbits.

We played with them for a while, picking them up and petting their soft fur.

"You're adorable," he said, ruffling my hair as I cooed at one of the little creatures in the cage.

I blushed, knowing I probably looked ridiculous.

But I wasn't quite embarrassed.

I was being carefree, and having a wonderful day, and at least for the moment everything seemed perfect.

"Well thank you," I said with a proud smile, leaning in and kissing him.

"Kittens?" he asked, pursing his lips and raising a brow after the suggestion.

"Of course!" I smiled as we made our way to the small animals.

I picked up a little purring Russian blue; he unsurprisingly picked up the only black one.

It opened its eyes to look at the body it was now nestled against and it revealed the most startling green eyes.

"Just like you," I breathed, looking from the kitten to Eli. He was grinning down at the little guy.

He looked over at the peaceful kitten in my arms and nodded towards it.

"Blue eyes. Almost as pretty as yours," he murmured, his eyes gazing up to mine and penetrating them.

I blushed, breaking my gaze from his and looking down at the cat. Her eyes were beautiful.

"Can we play with them for a little while?" I asked him hopefully.

He was already seated on the floor playing.

The kitten he had was apparently quite a feisty one.

I sat across from him and set the girl in my lap.

She blinked her eyes lazily, then, realizing she was with a stranger, backed off slowly.

It took some coaxing, but she eventually warmed up to me.

But only me.

She darted off under a nearby cage every time Eli so much as looked at her.

But eventually, after a whole hour of trouble, he was allowed to scratch her head.

She was a lot like me, I realized.

After what seemed like an eternity of playing with the kittens, they were worn out and curled up together for a nap.

"I don't think I'll be able to leave them," I said with a frown, looking up at Eli.

"Me neither," he said shaking his head.

"I wish we could keep them," I mumbled, resting my head on his shoulder as I leaned against him.

His arm instinctively wrapped around me, and I felt him nod.

"Well, who says we can't?"

"My mom, she's allergic…"

"My parents aren't. And they're definitely cat people. We can just keep them at my place." He gave my shoulder a squeeze. "I have the money for them, and for everything we'll need. Left over birthday money."

"Eli, wasn't your birthday like, seven months ago?" I laughed softly, knowing for a fact that it was.

"I'm really good at saving," he said with a chuckle. "Seriously, Clare, we could do this. If you want to."

"I do," I grinned, perking up. "I really do!"

"Good, then," he said with a proud smirk.

He leaned in and kissed me, and I kissed him back.

We stood, picking up the sleepy kittens and walking over to the counter where a small, old lady sat.

Eli paid for the kittens, and also got the essentials for them. We packed everything into the back of Morty and kept the cats with us up front.

"You're amazing, Eli Goldsworthy," I said softly, scratching my kitten behind her ears.

"You're not too bad yourself, Edwards," he said with a smirk, earning a roll of my eyes and a small laugh.

"Well thanks."

"No, I'm just kidding. You're the best, baby." He reached over and squeezed my hand as he pulled into his driveway.

I carried the kittens inside as he carried some of the supplies.

"Oh, Eli, what did you do?" his mom suddenly appeared from the kitchen, hurrying over to me and taking mine into her arms.

"Is it okay if we keep them over here, Mrs. Goldsworthy? It's just, my mom's allergic and I-"

"Clare, dear," she interrupted me, "First, don't call me Mrs. Goldsworthy. It makes me feel too old. And stop right there, it's absolutely no problem keeping them here. And you're welcome to visit anytime you want, of course."

I had warmed up to Eli's mom quickly, she was edgy but still warm hearted and caring like a mom should be.

"Well, thanks," I said with a smile. She patted my shoulder, handing my kitten back to me and disappearing off to the kitchen.

"She likes you more than me," Eli murmured in passing, as he set the food bowls just inside the kitchen.

I rolled my eyes, but giggled softly.

I sat on the couch of his living room and set the kittens down, suddenly biting my lip and staring at them in concentration.

"Don't hurt yourself there," Eli said as he walked over to where I sat. "You might sprain something in there," he murmured, tapping my head.

"Very funny," I said shooting him a glare, but it was playful. "I was just thinking we really need to name them."

"Right, the most fun part!" he said, grinning and scratching the fabric of the couch, getting the male kitten excited.

"What about Chuck for him?" I asked suddenly.

The perfect day was reminding me of our very first date, and how wonderful it had been.

"For Chuck Palahniuk," I quickly explained.

"Throwback to the first date?" he asked with a smirk, looking from me to his kitten.

"I love it. What about the little lady?"

"Hmm… Well I named yours. You should name mine."

"I was hoping you wouldn't suggest that," he smirked. "Well, I won't promise you'll like it. But for some reason, I've always really liked the name Ursa. Like the constellation," he explained when I didn't recognize the name.

"I really like that," I said with a smile, looking at the kitten. "Ursa. She looks like an Ursa."

"I'm glad you like it," he said with a smile.

For the rest of the afternoon we sat playing with Chuck and Ursa.

They ended up absolutely loving each other, and loving us.

"This is the most wonderful thing you could have ever gotten me," I said, looking up at Eli admiringly.

He had really surprised me, since I had first started liking him.

He had seemed cold, and uncaring.

But he ended up being one of the most compassionate, loving, and all around perfect people I'd ever met.

And I was desperately in love with him.

"Well I'm glad you like it," he said with a sincere smile, genuinely happy at making me happy.

I relaxed back onto the couch and let my eyes fall closed, but he suddenly hit me playfully with a pillow, "Hey, no sleeping! The day still isn't over."

"Still?" I asked, my eyes opening wide. "What more could we possibly do?"

"You'll see," he said with a mischievous smirk.

His mom had to leave, so we decided to surprise Adam with the kittens while we saw the end of the day.

We knocked on his door rapidly until an answer came.

It was a very annoyed looking Drew.

"Adam?" Eli asked with a raised eyebrow.

He dragged his feet as he walked to the stairs. "Adam!" he yelled.

Adam came running down the stairs, his eyes widening at the kittens in our arms.

"Meet Chuck," Eli held out the boy, "And Ursa," he nodded his head to the girl in my grasp.

"And kids, meet Uncle Adam," I said, pointedly looking at each of the kittens.

"You'll be spending some time together, so you'll get accustomed to each other," Eli said, and I smiled brightly at Adam who looked suspicious.

"Why, exactly, will they be spending time with me?"

"Because I have to take my lady out. We won't be late, though, promise."

"Promise," I chimed in, smiling.

"So, Ursa and Chuck? Uncle Adam does have a nice ring to it."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I said excitedly as he took the kittens in his arms.

Once he disappeared into his house, we left.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked, looking around at the unfamiliar scenery.

"You'll find out," he said mysteriously.

"Oh, come on. You haven't told me anything we've done all day!" I crossed my arms over my chest, leaning back in my seat.

"So why would you think I'd start now?"

He was so smug.

It was annoying.

Yet it was so… attractive?

God knows why I thought so.

"Fine," I huffed, turning my head to stare out the window.

He just laughed at me.

We ended up at a quaint little restaurant near the end of town, in an area I'd never remembered being before.

Once we were inside, it was one of the most beautiful places I'd ever seen.

It was dimly lit, mostly by candlelight, and there was soft music playing in the background.

Each table held a vase of red roses, but the one in the center of the room held a mixture of red and yellow.

I knew it was our table.

Yellow roses were my favorite.

Eli took my hand in his and led us to the table he had reserved.

We sat down and I took in my surroundings.

"Eli, it's beautiful," I breathed. "You didn't have to… How did you…"

I was speechless.

He smiled at me, giving my hand a squeeze.

"Happy three month anniversary," he said suddenly.

I hadn't even thought about that.

I had hardly known what day it was, much less remembered the monthly anniversary.

"That's what this was all about? Eli you didn't have to go through all of this. For that? It's too much, you-"

"Clare, after all that I've put you through, and what your parents are still putting you through, on top of all of the other stuff that you have on your plate, you deserve to be treated well. Hell, you deserve to be treated like a queen."

My heart was nearly beating out of my chest.

It took all I had not to jump across the table and attack him right then and there.

He allowed me to release some of the overflowing passion I was feeling for him when he leaned across and kissed me.

I kissed him back deeply, the hand that wasn't in his lightly pulling the hair at the nape of his neck.

We pulled apart and I was staring at him, wide eyed.

"You're perfect," I whispered, not knowing what else to say.

That's all that was on my mind.

"Not as perfect as you, Clare," he said with a shake of his head.

"I'm so completely in love with you, Eli," I said, holding his hand tighter and letting myself get lost in his eyes.

"I love you more than anything," he answered, leaning in and kissing my cheek. "And I always will."

_A/N: Again, I hope I can get a chance to update regularly. But sorry if I can't. Check back and review pretty please!_


	8. Complete

_Long time, I know. I really just got kind of unmotivated for this story because it wasn't a very thick plot in my mind and everything I had in mind has already happened. I'm going to call it done now, just because I don't want it to become stupid by my trying to fill in chapters. And this last chapter seemed like a good stopping point. I just figured I'd let you all know, even though I really hate it when authors do updates like this. _

_Aside from the Where Is My Mind sequel, which I'm considering at the moment, I'd love to have another story going, so send suggestions? (:_


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